The English Language


Recommended Posts

21 minutes ago, nonnaB said:

" wheres the cat" and " what are we doing"

Not much difference to English then Nonna slywink

 

Sorry

 

Rog

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 303
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

There have been several topics recently, whereby mention has been made regarding the correct use of the English language, especially punctuation which certainly gets people baffled at times. I mentio

Yes, it's good when people's posts are spelt correctly but if they aren't then I couldn't care less. I'm more interested in what they have to say than if they've missed an apostrophe off or misspelt a

Why is everyone going on about grammar?  I suspect that  it's often predictive text or twitchy fingers that cause any mistakes on here anyway.   As long as the.post  is clear and unambiguous,  does it

I love languages and hearing different nationalities who learn English, take my hat off to em.......recently taught a Libyan to say ''ey-up duck'' hes a very smart educated man,and a recent immigrant,and its very funny when he now greets me with it.

                           We tend to be lazy when abroad and most make no effort to learn the local lingo......my work involves many foreigners......and they love it when i greet them in their language, can't really string sentences together but would love to,have started keeping a record of them on my phone, yes if they live here they should learn English,but to show them we've taken the trouble to learn a bit of theirs makes them happy and feel welcome, English correct punctuation is difficult for many of us so to a foreigner it must be very hard,............but as nonna says, as long as we understand each other we are ok with it..........just my take on it,.......

Edit, nonna give us the Italian for ''wheres the cat''.........i'll get a laugh with that..........lol.

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Dove' il gatto ( cane , dog) don't know if I can spell it in Sicilian. It sounds like " unne'u watto"  " wheres the cat" my husband would kill me to see that but sicilian is another language.

We have a recipe book of sicilian dishes and its written first in Italian with the translation written on the opposite page.

Every now and again I hear a new sicilian word and have to ask or look it up. I know quite a few words but as you say I cant put them together but I can understand the gist.

Buona fortuna Beniamino

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Beniamino, i like that. Nonna, can't wait to go in a room full of italian speakers and saying "unne'u watto"  me ducks.?  Lol

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I always thought that when we English speakers try to speak to a foreigner we just shout louder'til they get it. :biggrin:. Wherever the cat is I can guarantee it's nowhere near my two canines.

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
5 hours ago, loppylugs said:

I always thought that when we English speakers try to speak to a foreigner we just shout louder'til they get it. 

You mean like today, yesterday, two days ago, in fact nearly EVERY day, when I tell a ‘foreigner’ on the phone to go and get a proper job instead of phoning me to tell me the warranty on my washing machine/tumble dryer/boiler/microwave has expired.   How come the Telephone Preference Service doesn’t manage to stop these annoying people? 

  • Like 4
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

The TPS remit applies only to organisations in the UK, so has no authority over calls emanating from overseas. Don't think that there's much you can do to stop them, so be positive Lizzie and see them as a good way of venting any pent up anger!

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
36 minutes ago, denshaw said:

Try a call blocker Lizzie.

Impossible to know what numbers to block Den.  They are usually  ‘Unavailable’ or ‘International’ numbers and as our business is based overseas we have to answer the phone.   Very often I pick up the phone and say absolutely nothing but can hear lots of other call centre workers jabbering away.  These callers know all about us, that’s what I find disconcerting.  

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
18 hours ago, loppylugs said:

English speakers try to speak to a foreigner we just shout louder'til they get it

 

"He doesn't speak a word of English; you'll have to shout" [Peter Cook].

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Everybody and his dog seem to know all about us these days, Lizzie.  Seems like if you have a FB account especially they are data mining everything you ever post.  Makes me sick and I don't even have a FB account.  I never answer my phone anymore except to numbers I know.  I realize that is not possible with a business.  Heard of one guy who has a loud whistle.  He never says a word when he answers, just lets 'em start their baloney.  Then he lets 'em have it with the whistle and hangs up.

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Btw.  Further to above.  I read a scary item recently.  The idea being that with the right software it is possible to edit what you say right down to a single word.  Eg. If they ask, is this Lizzie or Dave or whatever You answer, yes.  They can take that 'yes' and apply it to some sort of agreement.  I doubt it would hold up in court, but who needs that hassle?

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

It happens here too Loppy.we have a problem with nuisance calls as if we answer we get charged high prices for answering. Dont know how it works but we've all been warned and now we are getting to know the numbers that come up such as 04, 09, 06 etc. As you say we tend to answer only known callers when their names appear on the screen.  

 

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Very difficult to know what numbers to block, whether international or home based.

One thing I now do is NEVER give my mobile number, and landline VERY occasionally. 

I once donated to Gift Aid when visiting a stately home many years ago, and was almost instantly totally bombarded with cold calls of every description imaginable. A worthy cause maybe, but not worth the hassle. The least amount of people that know our personal details, the better. 

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I get these calls as well. Particularly irritating are those that state they are from Microsoft and want to access my computer to correct a serious error what has just occurred in the Windows operating system. Do they think I'm daft?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Our landline is ex-directory. That stops a lot of cold calls but not those where they just keep calling numbers at random. The next barrier is a system on our phone where unless it is a known number the caller has to identify who they are and we accept the call. That filters out a lot. We do not get cold calls now. On my mobile I do not answer calls if I do not know who it is. Blocked call numbers never get an answer.

Last year our Vicar, Church Wardens and some PCC members annoyed me seriously so I blocked all their email addresses. Heaven!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I  like to talk to these poor people who are only trying to make a living. I have had many a fruitful conversation with them , such as the man from Microsoft who said I had a bug in windows, he put the phone down on me after 10 minutes of me explaining all the steps I had taken in cleaning the windows and that they were now sparkling and not a smear in sight. A poor lady from a market research company ask me if I minded her asking me some personal questions ,no I replied only if I can ask you some, which I did she never answered she just ended the call. Don't let them annoy you just annoy them, after all they started it.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

The last odd request I got was from someone claiming to be be from Openreach (obviously their New Delhi branch) who asked me how many lights were lit on my router. I recalled the wise words of an office manager I once worked with who said ‘when dealing with officialdom just act daft’. It always works. They either explain it to you in minute detail or they just give up. You can have a lot of fun with this tactic and often turn it to your advantage as they do all the work for you and it makes them feel good.

 

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

The older I get the more I do this. Let them think you’re a doddery old fool and they go to the ends of the earth to help you, pack your bag, fill in your form etc. They get a warm glow and you just sit there and let them get on with it. :biggrin: It’s always a shock to them when they carry your goods out for you and they have to put it into the back of your sports car!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I've just seen some forms belonging to Nottm City Council, among the questions they asked about ethnic origin, where from & my skin colour also various specific questions about religion & a new one on me was what gender was I born & is that still the same today ? You couldn't make it up.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

I mentioned a site called Quara'' a little while back,which i find fascinating ,don't know if anyone looked it up,its world wide and gives an insight into how other countries view us and our language , they love our accents and our Royal family,..have a look gives you food for thought,,,ie the UK and what the rest generally think of us,,

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
38 minutes ago, catfan said:

I've just seen some forms belonging to Nottm City Council, among the questions they asked about ethnic origin, where from & my skin colour also various specific questions about religion & a new one on me was what gender was I born & is that still the same today ? You couldn't make it up.

Tell em you're 90% feline, Catfan! It's true enough!

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 9 months later...

Concentrate on English history as well. When I was at school it was all wars on the continent, I learnt about ours from books I read not from school.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...